DTM 2017: Norisring – Race 1

01.07.2017

The Norisring in Nuremberg is hosting the DTM this weekend for one of its highlights of the season. In a tough race on a drying track, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM driver Edoardo Mortara (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM BWT) fought his way up into sixth place from 14th on the grid after his pit stop. However, he was then spun by Mike Rockenfeller (Audi) and lost several positions. Rockenfeller was handed a drive-through penalty for the incident. Mortara finished the race in eighth place in the points, coming home just behind Jamie Green (Audi) in P7.

Gary Paffett (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM Mercedes me) in P10 also finished in the points, achieving his 100th top-ten finish in the DTM. Gary is now second behind Audi driver Mattias Ekström (136) for points scoring finishes by current DTM drivers.

Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM) and Maro Engel (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM SILBERPFEIL Energy) crossed the finish line just outside the Top Ten, placing 11th and 14th respectively. The first race of the weekend was over after just a few seconds for both Lucas Auer (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM BWT) and Robert Wickens (Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM Mercedes me) as they were knocked out in quick succession following several contacts at the start.

Looking ahead to race 2: The eighth round of the 2017 DTM season starts on Sunday at 17:23 CEST (live on ARD TV at 17:25 CEST). Third practice will take place before that at 11:40 CEST followed by the second qualifying at 14:00 CEST (live on One at 13:55 CEST).

Comments after the Race

Edoardo Mortara (30, Italy):

P8

Car number: 48

Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport BWT

Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM BWT

'It was a tough day. We once again seemed to have a lot more problems in qualifying than in the race itself. In the quali, we were struggling with the car, and our opponents were very fast. Before the race, the conditions changed, which was a good opportunity for me to make good some positions from P14 on the grid. On the first lap, I moved up by seven or eight places. I was lucky to come through the chaotic start without sustaining any damage, and our pace in the wet was OK. Consequently, it was looking really good for a Top Five or Top Six finish. I was in a fight with Wittmann, Glock and Rockenfeller. Unfortunately, Rocky spun me round on Turn 1. It was a typical Norisring incident. These things can happen. I would obviously have liked to score more points, but it's not that easy at the moment.'

Gary Paffett (36, England):

P10

Car number: 2

Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Mercedes me

Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM Mercedes me

'It was obviously a chaotic start on wet weather tyres on a really wet track. OK, I didn't crash, which was good, but I wasn't in the right place and didn't gain any positions. That was a bit disappointing. We then struggled for pace. When the track started to dry out, the car was a bit better. In the dry, I was pretty happy with it. But to be honest, at that time the race was already over. Today, we didn't have a quick enough car. We now have to take a different approach and do a better job tomorrow.'

Paul Di Resta (31, Scotland):

P11

Car number: 3

Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport SILBERPFEIL Energy

Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM

'It was a difficult day. I was very close to scoring a point. Unfortunately, I had a contact on the first lap in Turn 3. I think the speed was quite good. A lot happened in today's race, and we could have picked up a few points. I hope we can hit back tomorrow.'

Maro Engel (31, Germany):

P14

Car number: 63

Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport SILBERPFEIL Energy

Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM SILBERPFEIL Energy

'That was definitely not our race. We can only try to make it significantly better tomorrow. Before the start, I tried to get the tyres up to temperature as best I could, but unfortunately I overdid it and went into a spin. All in all, today was a write-off. Now we have to fix our sights.'

Lucas Auer (22, Austria):

retired

Car number: 22

Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport BWT

Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM BWT

'It all happened amazingly fast. My start was okay. I had a small contact and ran wide in the first corner. After that, I wanted to come back, and then there was a chain reaction. Still, we'll be back tomorrow.'

Robert Wickens (28, Canada):

retired

Car number: 6

Team: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Mercedes me

Car: Mercedes-AMG C 63 DTM Mercedes me

'I don't know what happened. I need to see the replay. It felt like I left plenty of space for everyone else on the inside of Turn 1. I was on the outside, but on the exit, I got hit so hard. To be honest, the whole car is broken. It's crazy. The start itself was good. It's always a pity when that happens. It's happened two years in a row now that I've had to retire here on a Saturday. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.'

Ulrich Fritz, Head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport DTM:

'This has been a very bad day for us. Losing two cars on the first lap was really tough. Then Edo was put into a spin while in a good position. We need to take a closer look at our cars. Maybe they had targets on the back of them. There's no other way of explaining it. We had definitely intended to do more today. We will certainly hit back tomorrow.'